It took the boys some time to skin the dead bear and cut away such meat as they thought they could tote along.  The rest of the meat they hung in a tree, thinking they might possibly come back for it later.  Then they started once more for camp.

“I hope the Spink crowd hasn’t been bothering Whopper and Tommy
since we have been away,” said Snap.   “If they have-----”

“Don’t borrow trouble,” interrupted the doctor’s son.  “Wait till it comes.”

With their heavy loads, they made slow progress through the woods, and they were glad when they reached the lion pit and could dispose of some of the bear meat.  The lion greeted them with a roar, but that was all.  He had not yet eaten the second wildcat; nevertheless, they threw to him a chunk of the bear meat, the fresh blood of which was very much to his satisfaction.

It was late when they reached camp, thoroughly tired out.  Whopper and Tommy were glad to see them, and immediately bustled about to get them a good supper.  Those left behind listened with interest to the tale the others had to tell.  When Shep told about the tracks around the lonely cabin, tracks that had caused Jed Sanborn to ask if they had seen a dog, Tommy looked greatly interested.

“Say!” he cried.   “Do you suppose-----” And then he stopped short.

“Do we suppose what?” queried Shep.

“Oh, I suppose it couldn’t be, but I was just thinking.  Maybe that isn’t a crazy man at all.”

“Well, what do you think it can be?” asked Giant.

“Maybe it’s Abe, the runaway chimpanzee.”

CHAPTER XXIX

THE BOTTOM OF A MYSTERY

All the others listened to Tommy’s words with interest.  Then Whopper spoke of the face he had seen as looking particularly impish.

“It was pretty dark, so we couldn’t see very well,” said he.  “It might have been the chimpanzee.”

“Would that chimpanzee steal a watch, and a camera, and a gun?” demanded the doctor’s son.

“He’ll take whatever happens to interest him,” answered the boy from the circus.  “They are constantly trying to teach him new tricks.  If you’ll remember, one of his tricks is to fire a gun into the air.  And another is to look at a watch and pretend to tell the time.”

“That’s so!” cried Snap.  “I saw him do both at the show.”

“Would he untie our boat?” asked Giant.

“He might.”

“If it is the chimpanzee we’ll have a hard job of it catching him,” said Shep slowly.  “He won’t stay at the cabin, but roam from place to place—–­and there is no telling what he’ll do with our things.”

“Don’t forget the reward that has been offered,” said Giant.  “If we can find the chimpanzee we can get that as well as the reward for the lion.”

Whopper and Tommy had not been bothered by the Spink crowd, and were of the opinion that the latter had shifted their camp to a new locality, closer to the lake.